Five Possible Misunderstandings Of The Deity

By krishnasmercy on February 3, 2024 • ( 0 )

“Seeing Sita, like trying to decipher knowledge from the Vedas which has become barely perceptible after lack of use, his mind became doubtful. As Sita was not decorated, with difficulty Hanuman could recognize her, like understanding a text which has gotten a different meaning due to a lack of purity.” (Valmiki Ramayana, Sundara Kand, 15.38-39)

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तस्य संदिदिहे बुद्धिर्मुहुः सीतां निरीक्ष्य तु।
आम्नायानामयोगेन विद्यां प्रशिथिलामिव।।
दुःखेन बुबुधे सीतां हनुमाननलङ्कृताम्।
संस्कारेण यथा हीनां वाचमर्थान्तरं गताम्।।

tasya saṃdidihe buddhirmuhuḥ sītāṃ nirīkṣya tu।
āmnāyānāmayogena vidyāṃ praśithilāmiva।।
duḥkhena bubudhe sītāṃ hanumānanalaṅkṛtām।
saṃskāreṇa yathā hīnāṃ vācamarthāntaraṃ gatām।।

1. A statue

“Oh, what an interesting piece. Maybe we can take pictures in front of it. I wonder what time period this is from. Such a unique vision you get for this part of the world. This must be imported. I think it would look great in a museum. Maybe this one can be grouped together with other depictions of a similar subject matter.”

2. A toy

“Oh, this is so great. Can I play with it? The ones you get me never look like this. I will take good care of it, I promise. This person is already my friend. I want to keep it in my room, at all times. This is the best toy you could ever get for me. Thank you!”

3. An art project

“Wow, you can just see the skill of the people at the time. They must have had some imagination, as well. Who would ever think of putting the head of an elephant on a human body? And the one with the four arms is really interesting. I think we could teach an entire semester course by covering these pieces, creating sort of a rotating gallery.”

4. An idol

“This must have been a really important person. A figure from history who continues to influence societies small and large. This one person seems to be idolized in many different places. It is like they represent the perfection of the human being, of how to live an ideal life. Others want to follow in this person’s footsteps.”

5. A false god

“These people are the worst. One figure after another. They sure are imaginative; you have to hand it to them. But this is why they are so crazy in their beliefs, like in how they don’t eat meat and try to get their children married at a young age. They even end up living with their elderly parents until the very end. Hello? Ever heard of a nursing home?

“They worship these false gods of a demonic origin. You can’t just bow down in front of a statue. That is craziness. It is sinful to create an image of the Almighty in this way. These people have all sorts of whacky ideas, like the continuation of the existence of the soul, the changing of bodies, the influence of time, action and reaction, cause and effect, the twenty-four elements of nature, the difference between matter and spirit, and even that thing they refer to as yoga.

“This is all just madness. Religion is simple. They must repent for their sinful ways. They should proclaim their acceptance of the savior. They should do it before time runs out. They ain’t gonna get another chance at it, if you know what I mean.”

…

His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada explains that the deity worship of the Vedic tradition is an authorized way to offer prayers, appreciations, and vows to the one who is the origin of everything. The deity is a way to understand God to the best extent possible, given our conditioned state.

There is the comparison to the mailbox. Based on its construction, it is like any other box. Except letters and parcels cannot be placed into any receptacle. The mailbox is authorized to accept items, with the promise of future delivery to reach the intended destination.

Deity worship functions in a similar manner. The original construction is from resin, stone, marble, brass, and so forth, but through an authorized process the final product becomes spiritual in nature. This is based on both the process of purification through installation and the viewpoint of the worshipers.

That is to say, the deity remains a statue to the less intelligent. Those who are not familiar can have a mistaken understanding of the archa-vigraha. It is a shame in the sense of a lost opportunity, since the deity offers identifiable features, saguna, to the one who never associates with material qualities, nirguna.

There are cases in history where the archa-vigraha is unearthed. It is discovered by someone, either accidentally or through a roadmap provided in a dream. This kind of deity was worshiped originally. The construction took place and there was an authorized mechanism to initiate the explicit outpouring of devotional activity.

Through the passage of time, the connection to the original process may be lost. The same applies to a collection of words. It could be a saying or something written down. The meaning changes or is difficult to ascertain, precisely due to the lack of connection.

Someone like Shri Hanuman is able to make the proper identification, as he did when seeing Sita Devi in a distressed condition. She is the beloved wife of Shri Rama. She is eternally worshiped in an image showing her by the side of her husband. Sita is always with Rama. Sita is always devoted to the Supreme Lord.

Someone like Ravana has a mistaken judgment. He cannot see properly. He thinks that Sita is for his pleasure, for his enjoyment, for puffing up his ego. He is not able to see properly and so the association with Sita leads to destruction instead of elevation.

The wise choose the path of Hanuman. I may not be able to see properly, but someone like Hanuman can show me the way. A true representative of Shri Rama extends an arm of support, to carry me across for reaching the place of knowledge, assertiveness, and progression in the devotional ascendency which eventually leads to liberation.